


The Very Last Minute

by FranklyMrShankly



Series: Our Life, Together [4]
Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Angst, Awkwardness, Coming Out, M/M, Meeting the Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-05-01 00:07:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5184809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FranklyMrShankly/pseuds/FranklyMrShankly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a coming out fic! <br/>It's a meet the parents fic!<br/>It's both.</p><p>One-shot in the Our Lives Together Universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Very Last Minute

**Author's Note:**

> This series isn't chronological and it shouldn't have to be. 
> 
> Enjoy.

We were ten minutes away. In three minutes, I would be rounding the corner into the neighborhood in my shitty maroon Honda.  Four minutes after that, I would turn onto our impossibly long street. Not quite three minutes after that, we would come to the end of the street, to the cul-de-sac that held my childhood home. The one where my parents still lived.

It was a chilly but bright April morning and my boyfriend and I were heading to my parents’ house to spend the day there.  Because it was my birthday. And this was our tradition; brunch with my parents. Movies all day with Mikey. Dinner, cake, and presents afterward. This time would be different. Frank was going to be meeting my parents for the first time.

We’d been dating for about four months and I was convinced that Frank was the one for me. He was everything I ever wanted in a significant other, and I was very, very proud to be his. Understandably, he was nervous to meet my family, I could tell as the sweat gathered on the palm of the hand that was holding mine over the automatic gearshift. I almost didn’t want to tell him. I shouldn’t have waited until we were nearly there to tell him.

The conversation from the day before rang in my head, _Tell-Tale Heart_ style, inducing guilt.

+++++

_“Gerard!” my mother’s voice come over the line after my monotone greeting._

_“Hey, ma,” I answered, biting the pencil in my hand and reaching with the other for an eraser, the phone cradled between my shoulder and ear._

_“Eleven AM still good for tomorrow, Mr. Comic Book Writer?”_

_“I’m just an illustrator, ma. Not a writer,” I groaned. “And it’s just one book. Just trying it out. Still at Cartoon Network.”  She was always trying to make my job seem more important. “But yeah. I can’t wait.” I paused for a moment. I already invited Frank, of course. But I had neglected to tell my mother. I was sure she wouldn’t mind the guest. “Hey, I’m bringing a date tomorrow, if that’s cool.”_

_“Of course!” my mother squealed. “I knew you were seeing someone! You’ve been so happy lately. I can tell you’ve got someone in your life to put that extra sparkle in your smile.” God help me. My mother is a Hallmark card. “What’s her name?”_

_Her._ Her. _I hadn’t gotten around to telling my parents that Frank was a man. Or that I had taken an interest in men at all._

_“Frankie,” I replied, kicking myself for using my gender ambiguous nickname for the man I loved._

_“That is an ADORABLE name. Probably short for Francesca! Italian, right? Keeping your father’s side happy, I see!” she laughed. How to tell her that Frank and I wouldn’t be thickening the Italian genes in our family, because we would not be having any children?_

_“Yeah, Italian,” I said, ignoring the question about Frank’s supposed full name. “And vegetarian, actually, so could we have a few eggs benedict without the ham? And maybe eggplant parmesan instead of chicken?”_

_“Aw! Of course! She must be so healthy! And pretty. I can’t wait to meet your special someone, baby!” she enthused and I felt like a coward. An asshole. Frank was going to murder me and then break up with my corpse. “Is she vegan or vegetarian? Should I go get some vegan cheese? The hollandaise has butter and eggs. I could just make pancakes? They make vegan milk and egg substitutes, right? I could google it.”_

_“No, Ma. Don’t worry about all that. Vegetarian. Not vegan. Just no meat, that’s all.” I smiled at her willingness to accommodate my date and then cringed when I wondered if she’d be so willing if she knew Frank had a dick. My parents had never expressed any homophobia, but we were Italian Catholics. I could only imagine. And that was my fault. I could only imagine because I was too cowardly to find out before it was too late._

_“Okay, then, honey. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow! And Frankie.”_

_“See you in the morning, Ma. Love you.”_

_“You, too, baby.”_

+++++

Sighing, I pulled into my family’s driveway and squeezed Frank’s hand. I still hadn’t told him. We could be walking into a shit storm right now. He needed to know. He deserved the chance to abandon me now. To call a cab or just demand I drive him home. I was so getting dumped.

“Frankie. I am an asshole. I hate myself. And I’m putting you in a terrible position.”

He laughed. “Baby. Meeting the parents is never easy, but they raised you. They can’t be that bad. I’m just a little anxious. It’ll be fine.”

“No, Frank. Remember when I told you I’ve only been dating guys for a couple years?”

He nodded and stayed silent.

“I’ve never brought one home before,” I continued, biting my bottom lip.

He looked a little relieved, but spoke gently. “Hey. There is a first time for everything. It might be odd for you, at first, if they’re used to seeing you with girls, but it’ll be fine. I swear. Everything you said about them makes me think they love you very much. Besides, you told them I was coming. Not like we’re barging in.”

I groaned and hit my head on the steering wheel. He was too good. He didn’t deserve a fuck up like me.  “Frank… I told them I was bringing a vegetarian date named Frankie. I didn’t get around to the you being a guy part. They don’t know, baby. They think I’m _straight_.”

“…you’re not out to your family, yet.”

“No.”

“And you’re planning on telling them by bringing a guy as your date to your family birthday celebration?”

“Well. I didn’t _plan_ it. I sort of chickened out when I could have just told them,” I lamented and started the car up again and throwing it in reverse. I could just call from the road and say I got sick. It was only ten thirty.

“Whoa. Gee. Where are you going?” Frankie asked as I started to move.

“Taking you home. Unless you want to stop at my place and clean out your drawer, first.”

He placed his hand over mine on the gearshift and squeezed it. “We’re not over, baby. And we’re not leaving.” He slid the car into park again, while my foot was still on the brake. “This is maybe going to be awkward. Maybe even messy, but I’m in, okay? I can deal with mess if it means I get to be with you on your birthday. You make me happy. I _love_ you.”

I blushed. The ‘I love yous’ were still relatively new, and they made my heart flutter. “I love you, too, Frankie.” I murmured, looking into his soft eyes. “Are you _sure_ you love me, though? I’m an awkward fuck who just put us into an awkward fucking situation.”

Frankie kissed my cheek and moved a strand of too-long black hair from in front of my face. “You wouldn’t be the Gee that I love if you weren’t awkward. It’s endearing, if sometimes problematic.”

I leaned in to peck his lips. “You’re perfect. Thank you. I’m going to make this up to you when we get back to yours.” He laughed at me and then unbuckled, grabbing the bag with his gift to me from the back seat and getting out. He was putting on his brave face for me; morphing into the confident-rock-star Frank that first caught my eye years ago. First made me realize guys could be attractive, too.

I got out, too, locking my car and then leading Frank up to the garage where I punched in the code to open the door. I felt like the garage door slowly rising was the curtain rising on a performance. An improv performance; whether comedy or tragedy, we were about to find out.

+++++

The first person we ran into was Mikey. He was in the den on the other side of the garage door, looking through stacks of DVDs. Growing up in a house full of loud Italians, he and I developed a method of silent communication, so upon seeing Frank standing beside me he met my eyes, proceeded to look Frank up and down, and then met my eyes again with a raised eyebrow. His question was clear to me, so I nodded minutely and grabbed Frank’s hand with a defiant look on my face. Mikey held my gaze with a scrutinizing look for a few breathless moments before he grinned, shrugged, and walked past us, kissing my cheek and slapping Frank’s shoulder as he went by.

“He approves,” I translated for my confused boyfriend.

“How do you know?” Frank was looking at the retreating form of my brother through the hallway.

“He told me,” I smiled and kissed Frank’s cheek. “You ready? Not too late to run away screaming.”

Frank silenced me with a quick kiss and a squeeze of my hand. I grinned and directed him to sit on the couch in the den while I walked into the hall a little and poked my head into the kitchen. “Ma! We’re here. In the den,” I called out before retreating out to sit next to my boyfriend, who was thumbing through a photo album. Ma had surely left that out in hopes of embarrassing me later. Jesus fuck.

Moments later my mother swept into the room with a cry of, “Happy birthday, baby!” She didn’t even notice Frank as she hauled me off of the couch and into a hug, kissing both my cheeks and tutting at the state of my hair. When she’s straightened and fussed to her satisfaction she looked over my shoulder and around the room, apparently looking for a girlfriend. When she could find none, she looked at Frank in earnest. Her eyes creased in the middle and her lips went thin and I began to worry. She didn’t speak to me, she spoke first to Frank. “Frankie isn’t short for Francesca, is it?”

“No, ma’am. Frankie is something Gee calls me,” he replied steadily, standing and extending his hand. “I’m Frank Iero. Very proud to call myself your son’s boyfriend, Mrs. Way.”

My mother looked down at Frank’s hand and then back up at him. I was sure this was the part where she asked us to leave and for me to change my name and forget their phone number. What happened instead was that she bypassed Frank’s hand altogether and pulled him in for a hug.

“It’s good to meet you, Frankie. No more of that ma’am and Mrs. Way, shit, you hear? I’m Donna. Or Mom. Whichever you prefer.” Frank hugged her back with a warm smile and a reassuring look at me. I may, or may not have had tears in my eyes.

Ma kept one arm around Frankie and pulled me in with the other. I embraced both of them happily.

“You could have told me, you little shit,” my mom said to me after a moment and Frank laughed.

“I’m sorry. I’m an idiot,”I replied.

“But you’re our idiot,” Ma said and Frank agreed with a hearty, “He sure is.”

After a moment of hugging and laughing at my stupidity, the hug broke and Ma wiped her eyes. “Brunch is in ten, boys. Wash up.”

I stopped her as she turned to go back toward the kitchen. “And… dad?” I asked softly. He’s never approved of my career or art or less than manly ways. He wasn’t going to like the fact that I wasn’t straight, either.

“I’ll handle your dad. Give me a few minutes before coming into the dining room. He’s not ruining your birthday, love.”

I pulled my mother into a hug and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Ma.”

“Nothing to thank me for, Gerard. I’m glad he makes you happy.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
